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Neville Isdell announced Thursday that he would be stepping down as head of Coca Cola (KO).

Isdell was cajoled back to the company after struggles with keeping top executives, inner company struggles and weak advertising.

Having for the most part straightened a lot of things out, he has opted to step aside and turn things over to the more aggressive Kent, known for taking strong risks, and the ability to deliver on those risks.

To have gone forward before things had been put back together would have been a big mistake for Isdell and Coke. Now that the foundation has been made solid again, and the purpose of the company reinstated, things should be ready for Kent to take things aggressively forward. Isdell will stay on with the company as Chairman until 2009.

In reference to the installation of Kent as CEO, Citigroup analyst Bonnie Herzog in a report, "Muhtar Kent has been a positive change for the company since taking over the COO role in December [2006]. We don't expect major strategic changes as Kent has been a major driver in the notable shift in the company's strategic direction, which has included the company's willingness to venture outside of the company's own strategic brands for growth."

Herzog added that while it isn't surprising to see Kent offered the position, it is a little earlier that most expected.

It is expected that Kent will take the company forward aggressively, whereas it has been performing strong globally, where that aggressiveness will be a big plus, domestically it has suffered, and Kent could give the company the push it needs to gain back share in the market they've been slow to respond to changes in.

Kent himself said that while the brand is a winner in the overall marketplace, and the strategy is there, now what needs to be done is bring execution of that strategy to a higher level.

With Isdell bringing things back together and a renewed focus on the purpose, and Kent ready to execute that purpose, Coke could be in for solid growth over the years ahead. The stock price of the company has been consistently rising since early 2006.